Previously, injection wells used to dispose fracking-related waste had been identified as the main culprit for seismic activity. That the state regulator, a group some environmental organizations accuse of having a cozy relationship with the industry, made the rules without consulting Stewart’s Ohio Oil and Gas Association could come as a surprise.

“I have not talked to (ODNR) in an effort to persuade them,” said Stewart, executive vice president of the association, adding that he needs more specifics on the plan and how it might affect his members.

The new rules say companies that want to horizontally drill within three miles of an area with known seismic activity greater than a 2.0 magnitude have to install sensitive seismic monitors. If the monitors detect a seismic action greater than a 1.0 magnitude, drilling must stop while the cause is investigated. If the investigation concludes a probable link to fracking, drilling-related operations must stop.

Seismologists generally say that an earthquake needs to be around the 3.0 mark to be felt by people.

The equipment and analysis needed to follow the rules might be expensive, but probably not prohibitively costly, Stewart said.

“What concerns me more is the suggestion that whole areas of land might be taken off the table,” he said, “just because a 1.0 or greater occurred.”

Stewart doesn’t dispute that fracking or its related activities can cause earthquakes. I asked him if the industry might need to retool its message from denying or downplaying that fracking can cause seismic activity to a more pragmatic approach, that some small earthquakes are part of the package for domestic production.

“I’ve heard people say just that,” Stewart told me. “I would not want to tell your readers that I’m taking this casually or callously. We don’t want to be shaking people’s homes. Should we be taking measures to mitigate that? Absolutely. Conversely, the fact that the earth moves and shakes all the time, and will forever move and shake all the time, needs to be put in perspective.”